Historic or Architectural Review Board

HISTORIC/ARCHITECTURAL BOARD Historic and/or Architectural Advisory Board City of Cortland February 9, 2016 A regular meeting of the Historic and/or Architectural Review Board was held on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, in the Mayor’s Conference Room at City Hall at 8:00 am. Present: Chairman Linda Kline, Commissioners Pam Abbott, Chris Barnes, Karina Murphy, Richard Stock Absent: Commissioners Mary Ann Kane, Dan Dineen Staff Present: Secretary Devon Rainbow, Zoning Officer Bob Rhea Minutes of January 12, 2016: a motion was made to approve the minutes as amended. Motion by: Comm. Abbott Seconded by: Comm. Barnes Approved: Ayes – 4 Nays – 0 Item #1 – 100 Tompkins St/Reeners  Demolition Linda Kline explained that the building has been in disrepair for many years and became vacant approximately 3 years ago when the out of town owner passed away. This is an Italian style home built back in 1800s. There have been some modifications done to the house since then. It resembles the house next door to it. Linda presented some pictures of places downtown that were demolition projects in the past within the historic area. When they were rebuilt, they kept some of the characteristics of the old building. Some things to consider while looking into historic buildings are: did an important person live there? Did an historical event take place there? Is the structure significant in a particular style? Jim and Mike Reeners were present to discuss the project. Jim and his son are partners and he has been in this business for 48 years now. He purchased the market place mall and saved it from becoming a drug store. He redesigned the mall and made it the 3 tier building that it is today. He has tried to purchase the property at 100 Tompkins St. for a year now but had run into problems due to the owner passing away. He currently purchased the property from foreclosure. Since then the building has been ransacked and looted for its plumbing and wiring, no mechanical system is working or repairable. All systems must be replaced as well as most of the interior and exterior of the building. Jim looks at the CITY OF CORTLAND – FEBRUARY 9, 2016  HISTORIC/ARCHITECTURAL BOARD history of his houses and tries to salvage and bring back what he can. The current property has asbestos siding and no wiring. All mechanicals need to be replaced in this building. The first and second floor sag so there are structural problems within the building. Nothing in this house is salvageable. It is in a R2 area and will be a 1-2 unit house. Jim takes pride in his work and feels he has a good reputation within the City. When he looks into reinitiating, he plans on coming back to the historical Commission with his plans for the new 2 family house. A motion was made to accept the application due to the fact that it is at the edge of the Historic District. All historic features are not the original, the outside of the building was redone with asbestos siding, the historic significance of the building is devalued, it wasn’t built by a noted architect, and no person of historic importance resided there. Motion By: Comm. Murphy Seconded By: Comm. Stock Approved: Ayes – 4 Nays – 0 New Business/Old Business: 77-79 Main Street still has 3 windows to replace. Bagel shop still has not put the approved color line on their sign. There is still conflict between the business owner and building owner. A violation was issued last spring. The applicant went against the original application that was approved and the Historic Commission agreed to approve the error with stipulation. Nothing about the project is as originally proposed. The Zoning officer will be visiting them again. 45 Main Street, The Wild Ginger Restaurant has been spoken to regarding the mailbox they have in front of the business. They were told they need to go get a PO Box at the Post Office. They were also spoken to regarding the dumpster in the back. The Zoning Officer is working on helping them resolve these issues despite some language barriers. Adjournment: Motion by: Comm. Stock Seconded by: Comm. Murphy Approved: Ayes – 4 Nays – 0 CITY OF CORTLAND – FEBRUARY 9, 2016  HISTORIC/ARCHITECTURAL BOARD I, LINDA KLINE, CHAIRPERSON OF THE HISTORIC AND/OR ARCHITECTURAL BOARD OF THE CITY OF CORTLAND, NY, DO HEREBY CERTIFY THAT SAID RESOLUTION(S) WERE ADOPTED AT A MEETING OF THE HISTORIC AND/OR ARCHITECTURAL BOARD OF THE CITY OF CORTLAND, NY, HELD ON THE 9th DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2016. ______________________________ LINDA KLINE, CHAIRPERSON CITY OF CORTLAND – FEBRUARY 9, 2016